Just a thought before today’s rushed hearings in which Dr. Blazey Ford and Judge Kavanaugh will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, to be questioned by Democratic Senators and a hand-picked female investigator — who may or may not have marching orders — acting for the all-male Republicans:

Some people are probably lying. My sense is that the first couple of accusations about Judge Kavanaugh have a ring of credibility — delivered (as in the Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby cases) by a fair amount of corroborating evidence — but that some of the latter accusations and defenses, with the former delving into hearsay and the latter involving claims that they rather than the then-pupal Judge were the actual gang-rape participants (or something), start to test credulity. Some of this “poisoning of the well” regarding what is legitimate and what is illegitimate testimony is probably intentional, as casual observers will probably want to lump all the accusations and defenses together and judge them by the least persuasive instances among them — using the latter two-thirds of the strategy of “spreading Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.”

We simply can’t have that.

Don’t tell me that we’re in a rush to get a full Supreme Court lineup, because Republicans killed their ability to use that argument permanent when they stretched out the Merrick Garland nomination in 2016. We can’t have this uncertainty hanging over the process not only because Kavanaugh is a prospective Supreme Court Justice, but but because he is a sitting District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals Judge.

We can’t have a lingering cloud over his integrity. If he’s lying to Congress, or even something just short of lying, he needs to be impeached and removed from office. If he’s not, then he needs to be exonerated. This rushed hearing won’t do the latter. And, for the former, an investigation will be needed.

Don’t kid yourself — that investigation will happen when — at this point, one doesn’t really even need to say “if” — Democrats take over the House of Representatives next January. The President doesn’t have to allow an FBI investigation — under the “unitary executive” theory that we’ll be hearing so much more about after the election — but he can’t stop a house of Congress from conducting one. And the more that it becomes clear that the Senate Republicans were rushing this process specifically to fend off new revelations — and to prevent an FBI investigation from taking place — the messier (and ultimately bloodier) things will get.

I really do appreciate it when Republicans try to get the Democratic Party to reform itself and to do what’s right — it aids the work I do within the Democratic Party. So let me be blunt here to my Republican friends and colleagues: having Kavanaugh approved via a flawed process (as opposed to seeing someone untainted approved) is probably the best thing that could happen to Democrats and the worst thing to Republicans, because it will keep Democratic fury boiling for as long as the effects of his decisions last. Republicans will be losing elections everywhere so decisively that even cheating won’t be able to help them. This would not happen nearly as much if the person seated wasn’t being rushed into office — needlessly! — through a tainted process; this process itself is what will ultimately give Democrats license to impeach and remove Kavanaugh from office once the investigations do take place. It would be impossible to remove Kavanaugh from office under normal circumstances — but having forced an accused attempted rapist — or even a confirmed rapist, by the fime investigations are completed — into lifetime office is about the only thing that could lead to Democrats winning 2/3 of the Senate, as early as 2020.

This is a self-inflicted wound for Republicans. While I’d love to have a House and Senate that could override a Trump veto, you shouldn’t want it to happen. A little procedural fairness here will do a long way. We need people to decide whether they will lie to the professional investigators at the FBI — with all of the time they need to find the facts — or to tell the truth. That will only happen if the FBI or a Select Committee investigates. It’s better for everyone for that to happen before the confirmation of what will be a tainted Justice than afterwards.

About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose worker's rights and government accountability attorney, residing in northwest Brea. General Counsel of CATER, the Coalition of Anaheim Taxpayers for Economic Responsibility, a non-partisan group of people sick of local corruption.
Deposed as Northern Vice Chair of DPOC in April 2014 when his anti-corruption and pro-consumer work in Anaheim infuriated the Building Trades and Teamsters in spring 2014, who then worked with the lawless and power-mad DPOC Chair to eliminate his internal oversight.
Occasionally runs for office to challenge some nasty incumbent who would otherwise run unopposed. (Someday he might pick a fight with the intent to win rather than just dent someone. You'll know it when you see it.) He got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012 and in 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002.
None of his pre-putsch writings ever spoke for the Democratic Party at the local, county, state, national, or galactic level, nor do they now.
A family member co-owns a business offering campaign treasurer services to Democratic candidates and the odd independent. He is very proud of her. He doesn't directly profit from her work and it doesn't affect his coverage. (He does not always favor her clients, though she might hesitate to take one that he truly hated.)
He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.)

9 Comments

I don’t have a problem with anything you’ve written here, but let’s all acknowledge that Senate Democrats have the worst record possible when it comes to investigating and seeking justice against politically powerful males and their female enablers.

We’ll all be moving toward a better culture when the long list of Democrat hypocrites are forced from office.

Oh, but wait a minute, “It’s not a criminal investigation, just a job interview ” until sides of the mouth talking switch. While we’re getting investigations done, HOW about one to discover HOW Ford’s letter got from Sen. Feinstein’s office to the media, and perhaps also why she sat on it for weeks until the hearings closed ? Inquiring minds wanna know and all that.

*Just go back to 2012. Maybe Prof. Ford has a psychic advisor – probably Dionne Warwick. She probably could see the Future and knew that Hillary was going to nominate the KAV MAN…….and so she set up the whole story back then. Heck,
you can’t make this stuff up ….can you? She knew that Diane Feinstein would be older and not as sharp and might let the cat out of the bag, or better yet…that she could let the cat out of the bag and blame Feinstein. Or…….maybe she had an affair with Charles Grassley and knew he would let her testify……so she could write a tell all book! Or, maybe she finally told her mom what happened and it weighed on her conscious. Ahhhhh, all hog wash…..partisan hog wash……we love those nasty, insensitive, creepy Republicants on Senate Judiciary Committee…..they have families they need to support and Trump Hotels to invest in……we get it.

Debating who did what the last time, procedure, timing etc. Is really getting in the weeds.

The opportunity to handle this current hearing in whatever manner was the absolute best, most fair and comprehensive existed. No one’s hands were tied.

Witnessing all these public servants making it about themselves and the past and that political baggage serves no one. Making it partisan and about indignation towards each other is a waste of time. And leaves a queasy feeling.

If the true goal were to work together to give the American people the best possible supreme court judge then every decision would simply follow that path.

No matter how messy, convoluted and mistake ridden the lead up to the confirmation there was a (now missed) chance to do the best in a worst scenario. Take the time. Unravel it. There shouldn’t have been sides taken by these representatives. They should all have been on the same side of getting to the truth.

Having so many feelings about it and making it personal wasn’t really a luxury they should have afforded themselves.

*The scaryed and scarred nominee…..is slowly twisting in the wind. The only thing different that the KAV MAN could have done was “Blow his cookies right in the middle of the proceedings, which for a time we thought was going to happen….with him doing HIS Kobie Bryant…..”I did not have sex with that woman in Colorado” tongue going in and out of his mouth. Pathetic…..sad…..and just proved that this nominee is totally unacceptable to sit beside Neal or Clarence….much less everyone else on the Supreme Court. Where is Scalia when we need him? Right there with Antony Bourdain……dusted by the bad guys!